The Hunter 350 is the most affordable Royal Enfield on sale today and it is also one of the company’s most popular sellers. The bike has recently received some significant updates and in this article, we put together the main reasons why you might want to buy one, and a couple that you won’t. Let’s start with one of the most compelling reasons:
1. Most affordable Royal Enfield
Priced between Rs 1.5-1.82 lakh ex-showroom
With a starting point of Rs 1.5 lakh ex-showroom, the Hunter is not just the most affordable RE bike, but it also significantly undercuts similar rivals like the Honda CB 350 H’ness and RS as well as the likes of the Triumph Speed T4 and the Jawa/Yezdi motorcycles. However, the base model is quite stripped down and if you want the bike with alloy wheels, an LED headlamp and flashy colours, you’ll have to spend about Rs 1.77 lakh- Rs 1.82 lakh based on the colour. Even then, the price is a big part of this bike’s appeal
2. Typical Royal Enfield character
The Hunter has the same 350cc engine as the Classic and the Bullet
With the same 349cc air-cooled single cylinder engine, the Hunter 350 has that same enjoyable thump and effortless low rpm torque as its siblings – the Classic 350, Meteor 350 and Bullet 350. This mellow effortless style of riding is loved by lakhs of riders across the country and the Hunter delivers that experience. That being said, it does have a different engine tune that results in slightly quicker responses and a noticeably different sound.
3. Ease of riding
The Hunter is light by RE standards and has a low seat
At 181kg, the Hunter is a good fourteen kilos lighter than a Classic 350 and that difference is easily felt on the move. Going with this relatively lightweight character are 17-inch wheels and sharper front steering geometry all of which make the Hunter feel much lighter and more agile on its feet compared to its other 350cc siblings. Rounding this off is a 790mm seat height that should be friendly for most smaller or lighter riders.
4. New levels of comfort – suspension, clutch
Updated Hunter 350 is now more comfortable to ride
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This is the area where the 2025 Hunter 350 has made the biggest improvements and while we rated the original Hunter 350’s firm suspension as a bit of a deal breaker, that is no longer the case. The new Hunter gets revised rear shocks which do a much better job of absorbing bumpy road surfaces. A new slip/assist clutch has also made a significant reduction in the weight of the clutch lever action, which was another area of complaint on the previous bike.
5. RE community and ecosystem
Royal Enfield has an unmatched rider community
Royal Enfield has spent the better part of the last two decades building a massive community that no one else comes close to matching. This includes things like curated ride experiences and events like the annual Moto Verse festival in Goa which is one of India’s largest two-wheeler festivals. Beyond that the company has also curated a huge selection of well made accessories for its motorcycles as well as safety gear and apparel.
With that said, there are a couple of reasons why the Royal Enfield Hunter 350 may still not appeal to you and the first of them is the sort of riding experience it offers.
But here are two reasons why you may not want to buy the new Hunter 350:
1. Performance for the price
You can get a lot more performance for this price
While the Hunter’s price is good in comparison to similar motorcycles, if its performance you’re after then you should look elsewhere. With 20hp and 27Nm the Hunter 350 has a comfortable cruising speed of 80-90kph and tops out at around 120kph. For similar money, you can get much quicker bikes including the likes of the Hero Xtreme 250R, Honda CB300F and even the Bajaj Pulsar NS400Z, which is about to get an update any day now.
2. Size and presence
It’s smaller than all the other RE bikes
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The Hunter’s light and agile feel is certainly a benefit for the newer riders that RE is targeting with this bike, but it also comes at the cost of the usual size and presence that this company is known for. While it’s not small in general, it also doesn’t have that same large stance and road presence that many people will expect from a Royal Enfield. The Hunter also doesn’t have a lot of space for carrying a pillion rider in comfort, especially if it’s two large folks on the bike.
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